An Interview with Jacqueline Gordon

Jackie's Studio At Djerassi Artist Residency

Jacqueline Gordon is an artist based in Los Angeles, CA who uses Max to build sculptural multichannel sound installations. Jackie's workspace photos caught our eye, so we caught up with her to find out more.

Andrew Benson:What are you working on right now?Jacqueline Gordon: I'm work on an upcoming solo sound and sculpture installation at YBCA and a show of drawings at CULT Gallery in San Francisco.

AB:How does Max fit into your larger studio and music practice? What other tools do are you using?

JG: I use Max to create the multi-channel sound environments for my installations. the sound sources are either live mics, field recordings or samples and then i use Max to add some processing, like delay (to prevent feedback), filter if need be and output to speakers. the way the output is organized and the number of speakers i use depends on the sculpture. I do not use ambisonics because my speaker placement is never are the correct positions due to the sculptures. I use Reaper as my DAW and i'm trying to learn SuperCollider

AB:How important is a physical studio to the way that you work?

JG: Very important. for me sound is physical and I need to a space to visualize it. I also work with sculpture so I tend to have a messy area and a clean area in my studio. As far as my daily practice goes it's incredibly important just to leave the house. When I need to use a recording studio or listen to something on really nice monitors, I usually go to a friends place.

AB:How did you get started using Max?

JG: At SFAI where i got my BFA i took a sound art class with Laetitia Sonami. She started us out on sound edit 16 and we ended with Max. But it wasn't till i started to do my multichannel sound installations as few years later that i really started using it. i've also have some amazing friends who are Max experts and they have helped me develop my patches over the years.

AB:Do you spend much time patching, or is it really focused on specific ideas or projects?

JG:Its totally project driven.

AB:Do you have one patch that you are always changing or a bunch of little things?

JG: I use one that i modify over and over. It's time now for me to start a new one but i've been procrastinating on it.

AB:What's next?

JG: I've got a show at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts that opens in a little over a month that will involve a 15 channel sound installation surrounding a sculpture. After that i'll be doing a residency at The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, NY.